The People's Republic of Hopelessness is a colossal, environmentally stunning nation, renowned for its burgeoning Kitsune population. The hard-nosed population of 4.851 billion Hopelessnessians are fiercely patriotic and enjoy great social equality; they tend to view other, more capitalist countries as somewhat immoral and corrupt.

The medium-sized government juggles the competing demands of Defense, Education, and Law & Order. The average income tax rate is 33.8%, but much higher for the wealthy.

The large but inefficient Hopelessnessian economy, worth 142 trillion Delta Eagles a year, is quite specialized and led by the Gambling industry, with major contributions from Tourism, Basket Weaving, and Pizza Delivery. Black market activity is notable. State-owned companies are common. Average income is 29,477 Delta Eagles, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 2.0 times as much as the poorest.

Restaurateurs put a lot of effort into persuading customers to accept wafer-thin mints, TV shows must meet strict ethnicity quotas, supervisors in Hopelessness commonly tie bells on their necks to alert employees of their presence, and pharmaceutical companies emphatically promise that "your pills are in the mail" rather than admit any supply shortfall. Crime, especially youth-related, is almost non-existent, thanks to a well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Hopelessness's national animal is the Kitsune, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests.

Hopelessness is ranked 269,778^th in the world and 4,145^th in eta for Largest Trout Fishing Sector, scoring -5.29 on the Nemo Depletion Efficiency Index.